West Ham midfielder Alex Song has not been included in the Cameroon squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

The news will come as a boost to West Ham boss Sam Allardyce as he looks to keep his inside the top four after a brilliant start to the season.

Allardyce had been preparing to lose African trio Song (Cameroon), Diafra Sakho (Senegal) and Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal) for the tournament which starts on January 17.

Alex Song hasn't been selected in the Cameroon for the 2015 African Cup of Nations

Song returned to London on loan and he has been a breath of fresh of air at West Ham

All three players have played key roles in West Ham's season, which has seen the east London club pick up 31 points from 17 games.

Song seems to have fallen out of favour with the Cameroon hierarchy following his sending off during the 4-0 defeat against Croatia during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The former Barcelona player was shown a straight red card in the Group A loss for striking Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic in the back with his elbow in an off-the-ball incident.

Song, who issued a statement apologising for his conduct after the match, was forced to sit out Cameroon's final group match against Brazil as the Indomitable Lions had no chance of progressing.

The 27-year-old was sent off during Cameroon's 4-0 World Cup defeat against Croatia

Sam Allardyce will be pleased to keep his star midfielder in the squad throughout January and February

'We might have a little worrying spell during the Africa Cup of Nations in January,' said Allardyce in a press conference earlier this month.

'That's why I'm not prepared to do any more predictions until they come back.

'We don't want to get carried away. We just want to keep on playing the football we're playing at the moment. Everyone is enjoying themselves, there's a good buzz around the training ground which is always a good sign.'